Derwent Darley Dale

Trout no.1

 It's been a few weeks since I've had a session with the fly rod so a brief cast on Sutton Brook at the weekend wetted my apetite to get back onto the Derwent. Yesterday afternoon I headed up to Darley, it is a frustrating drive in the afternoon with the traffic heavy no matter which way you attempt. Can't complain too much though as I had netted a few fish whilst Phil was still in the traffic jam on the A6!

Trout no.2

 Upon arrival there wasn't much activity on the surface so I'd set up a little New Zealand rig with a size 18 PTN under a buoyant parachute pattern as the dry. I was very quickly into fish on a favourite run with most coming to the nymph. Prompted by some correspondence after my last trip to Darley there is a bit of a spot the stockie test on this post so comments please on whether you think I've hit the nail on the head.

So here goes, trout no.1 I've got down as a stockie, the markings were indistinct and it felt really lean in the hand. Trout no.2 is a defo wildie for me, beautifully marked with white edges to the fins and a tinge of red in the adipose fin.

Trout no.3

 Trout no.3 has got me a little stuck but I'm going to suggest a wild fish due to the white edge on the fins. Also the picture does not do it justice and it was a lot more 'solid' than it looked.

 The best fishing was in late afternoon with only spioradic rises as evening fell. It dropped quite cool later on and it is now starting to feel distinctly 'back end-ish'.